Crowner John is Tested to the Limit, 22 Feb 2005
Christ Mass, 1194 and Sir John de Wolfe (newly appointed coroner for the county of Devon) is attending a party at his own home, the guests include some of the most notable dignitaries of the city of Exeter, including his brotherin-law Sir Richard, Sheriff of the county.

His wife Matilda, a usually surly and miserable woman is in good spirits, because she sees the party as an opportunity to raise her social standing something she is always striving to attain.

Sir John, much to her disgust is called away to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged in his own privy. Is it suicide, or is there something more sinister afoot . . .

I always enjoy Bernard Knight's novels. There are many good writers about but very few have Prof. Knight's gift of storytelling and the obvious knowledge he has about the period in which he writes.

Well done!, 15 Dec 2000
Excellent and historically (as near as possible) accurate. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, you will enjoy this one and all of this author's works.

Crowner John is Tested to the Limit, 22 Feb 2005
Christ Mass, 1194 and Sir John de Wolfe (newly appointed coroner for the county of Devon) is attending a party at his own home, the guests include some of the most notable dignitaries of the city of Exeter, including his brotherin-law Sir Richard, Sheriff of the county.

His wife Matilda, a usually surly and miserable woman is in good spirits, because she sees the party as an opportunity to raise her social standing something she is always striving to attain.

Sir John, much to her disgust is called away to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged in his own privy. Is it suicide, or is there something more sinister afoot . . .

I always enjoy Bernard Knight's novels. There are many good writers about but very few have Prof. Knight's gift of storytelling and the obvious knowledge he has about the period in which he writes.

Well done!, 15 Dec 2000
Excellent and historically (as near as possible) accurate. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, you will enjoy this one and all of this author's works.

New Orleans: "Nothing is as it seems...and smiles devour.", 03 Jan 2006
New Orleans, 1863: the Civil War is raging, controversial Union General Benjamin Butler has just turned over his post to his successor, blacks are disappearing from their neighborhoods, horrific murders are occurring, voodoo ceremonies are taking place in the countryside, and terror is everywhere. Some white "philanthropists" have established a program for sending blacks back to a welcoming Africa, but many former slaves wish to stay in New Orleans. Both blacks and whites are terrified at what the future may hold.

Into this milieu comes Abel Jones, a major in the Union army who came to the US from Wales, by way of India, and whose rigorous moral code has brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has asked him to investigate the death of Susan Peabody, the abolitionist daughter of a wealthy northerner. Abel believes that she has been murdered, though no one knows a specific motive. Jones, the often dour hero of five previous Parry mysteries, is a fascinating character, and in this novel he continues to grow, showing far more emotion than he has in the past and far more flexibility in his interpretation of his religious duties as a devout Methodist.

Author Parry's considerable research into the New Orleans setting of 1863 is smoothly incorporated as he makes the city come alive in all the tumult of its mid-Civil War upheavals. His greatest skill, however, is in creating a fast pace in which one sensational event succeeds another at a never-slackening speed. Much of the mystery is connected to the Creoles' voodoo beliefs and voodoo ceremonies, which Parry describes in gruesome and gory detail, while Abel tries to connect events to missing Negroes and Susan Peabody's death. During his investigations, Abel runs afoul of some of the army officers who are supposed to be maintaining public order, and when he uncovers the theft of a huge sum of money entrusted to the army, his life is endangered.

Filling the novel with details and events guaranteed to excite the reader, including macabre deaths and torture not for the faint of heart, he appeals to the reader's emotions, sometimes creating scenes that are over-the-top in their sensationalism. "More is more" here, and subtlety is not an objective, once the action gets going. Written with immense narrative brio, this novel, like the others in the Abel Jones series is a carefully researched entertainment, rather than "serious literature." Parry's goal is to keep readers on the edges of their chairs, and he totally succeeds in this, his best novel to date. Mary Whipple

Crowner John is Tested to the Limit, 22 Feb 2005
Christ Mass, 1194 and Sir John de Wolfe (newly appointed coroner for the county of Devon) is attending a party at his own home, the guests include some of the most notable dignitaries of the city of Exeter, including his brotherin-law Sir Richard, Sheriff of the county.

His wife Matilda, a usually surly and miserable woman is in good spirits, because she sees the party as an opportunity to raise her social standing something she is always striving to attain.

Sir John, much to her disgust is called away to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged in his own privy. Is it suicide, or is there something more sinister afoot . . .

I always enjoy Bernard Knight's novels. There are many good writers about but very few have Prof. Knight's gift of storytelling and the obvious knowledge he has about the period in which he writes.

Well done!, 15 Dec 2000
Excellent and historically (as near as possible) accurate. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, you will enjoy this one and all of this author's works.

New Orleans: "Nothing is as it seems...and smiles devour.", 03 Jan 2006
New Orleans, 1863: the Civil War is raging, controversial Union General Benjamin Butler has just turned over his post to his successor, blacks are disappearing from their neighborhoods, horrific murders are occurring, voodoo ceremonies are taking place in the countryside, and terror is everywhere. Some white "philanthropists" have established a program for sending blacks back to a welcoming Africa, but many former slaves wish to stay in New Orleans. Both blacks and whites are terrified at what the future may hold.

Into this milieu comes Abel Jones, a major in the Union army who came to the US from Wales, by way of India, and whose rigorous moral code has brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has asked him to investigate the death of Susan Peabody, the abolitionist daughter of a wealthy northerner. Abel believes that she has been murdered, though no one knows a specific motive. Jones, the often dour hero of five previous Parry mysteries, is a fascinating character, and in this novel he continues to grow, showing far more emotion than he has in the past and far more flexibility in his interpretation of his religious duties as a devout Methodist.

Author Parry's considerable research into the New Orleans setting of 1863 is smoothly incorporated as he makes the city come alive in all the tumult of its mid-Civil War upheavals. His greatest skill, however, is in creating a fast pace in which one sensational event succeeds another at a never-slackening speed. Much of the mystery is connected to the Creoles' voodoo beliefs and voodoo ceremonies, which Parry describes in gruesome and gory detail, while Abel tries to connect events to missing Negroes and Susan Peabody's death. During his investigations, Abel runs afoul of some of the army officers who are supposed to be maintaining public order, and when he uncovers the theft of a huge sum of money entrusted to the army, his life is endangered.

Filling the novel with details and events guaranteed to excite the reader, including macabre deaths and torture not for the faint of heart, he appeals to the reader's emotions, sometimes creating scenes that are over-the-top in their sensationalism. "More is more" here, and subtlety is not an objective, once the action gets going. Written with immense narrative brio, this novel, like the others in the Abel Jones series is a carefully researched entertainment, rather than "serious literature." Parry's goal is to keep readers on the edges of their chairs, and he totally succeeds in this, his best novel to date. Mary Whipple

An amazing trip, 19 Sep 2003
In 1792, among the terror sweeping Paris, personal tragedy comes to Celie. Having left her baby with a friend, she returns to find the child dead. Her grief turns to thirst for vengeance, when her coworker, Therese, informs her that her baby was left alone while her friend dallied with her lover. With blood flowing in the streets of Paris it would be so easy to slip another soul into the human grinder. Is that what Celie really wants to do?

This short work (73 pages) is an amazing trip back to a startling time. Not a murder mystery, as I expected, this book is instead a gripping examination of a common human caught up in an entirely inhuman situation. I wish that I could say more, but I don't wish to give away too much. All I can say is that if you want a great short story that mixes humanity and inhumanity, then this book is for you.

Crowner John is Tested to the Limit, 22 Feb 2005
Christ Mass, 1194 and Sir John de Wolfe (newly appointed coroner for the county of Devon) is attending a party at his own home, the guests include some of the most notable dignitaries of the city of Exeter, including his brotherin-law Sir Richard, Sheriff of the county.

His wife Matilda, a usually surly and miserable woman is in good spirits, because she sees the party as an opportunity to raise her social standing something she is always striving to attain.

Sir John, much to her disgust is called away to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged in his own privy. Is it suicide, or is there something more sinister afoot . . .

I always enjoy Bernard Knight's novels. There are many good writers about but very few have Prof. Knight's gift of storytelling and the obvious knowledge he has about the period in which he writes.

Well done!, 15 Dec 2000
Excellent and historically (as near as possible) accurate. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, you will enjoy this one and all of this author's works.

New Orleans: "Nothing is as it seems...and smiles devour.", 03 Jan 2006
New Orleans, 1863: the Civil War is raging, controversial Union General Benjamin Butler has just turned over his post to his successor, blacks are disappearing from their neighborhoods, horrific murders are occurring, voodoo ceremonies are taking place in the countryside, and terror is everywhere. Some white "philanthropists" have established a program for sending blacks back to a welcoming Africa, but many former slaves wish to stay in New Orleans. Both blacks and whites are terrified at what the future may hold.

Into this milieu comes Abel Jones, a major in the Union army who came to the US from Wales, by way of India, and whose rigorous moral code has brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has asked him to investigate the death of Susan Peabody, the abolitionist daughter of a wealthy northerner. Abel believes that she has been murdered, though no one knows a specific motive. Jones, the often dour hero of five previous Parry mysteries, is a fascinating character, and in this novel he continues to grow, showing far more emotion than he has in the past and far more flexibility in his interpretation of his religious duties as a devout Methodist.

Author Parry's considerable research into the New Orleans setting of 1863 is smoothly incorporated as he makes the city come alive in all the tumult of its mid-Civil War upheavals. His greatest skill, however, is in creating a fast pace in which one sensational event succeeds another at a never-slackening speed. Much of the mystery is connected to the Creoles' voodoo beliefs and voodoo ceremonies, which Parry describes in gruesome and gory detail, while Abel tries to connect events to missing Negroes and Susan Peabody's death. During his investigations, Abel runs afoul of some of the army officers who are supposed to be maintaining public order, and when he uncovers the theft of a huge sum of money entrusted to the army, his life is endangered.

Filling the novel with details and events guaranteed to excite the reader, including macabre deaths and torture not for the faint of heart, he appeals to the reader's emotions, sometimes creating scenes that are over-the-top in their sensationalism. "More is more" here, and subtlety is not an objective, once the action gets going. Written with immense narrative brio, this novel, like the others in the Abel Jones series is a carefully researched entertainment, rather than "serious literature." Parry's goal is to keep readers on the edges of their chairs, and he totally succeeds in this, his best novel to date. Mary Whipple

An amazing trip, 19 Sep 2003
In 1792, among the terror sweeping Paris, personal tragedy comes to Celie. Having left her baby with a friend, she returns to find the child dead. Her grief turns to thirst for vengeance, when her coworker, Therese, informs her that her baby was left alone while her friend dallied with her lover. With blood flowing in the streets of Paris it would be so easy to slip another soul into the human grinder. Is that what Celie really wants to do?

This short work (73 pages) is an amazing trip back to a startling time. Not a murder mystery, as I expected, this book is instead a gripping examination of a common human caught up in an entirely inhuman situation. I wish that I could say more, but I don't wish to give away too much. All I can say is that if you want a great short story that mixes humanity and inhumanity, then this book is for you.

a wonderfully engaging read, 21 Jul 2006
Another brilliantly rendered Louisa May Alcott mystery novel to enjoy! This time Louisa is in Boston, temporarily separated from her family, as she endeavours to make a living as a seamstress, as well as continue to write her "blood and thunder" stories n the hopes of getting them published. But it isn't too long before Louisa finds herself caught up in yet another perplexing murder investigation.

It is December of 1855, and Louisa is hoping to earn some extra money for Christmas presents with her sewing. But when her good friend, Sylvia Shattuck, begs her to accompany her to a seance, Louisa finds herself reluctantly agreeing to accompany Sylvia in order to keep an eye on her easily susceptible friend. Louisa fully expects that the medium will be a fraud, but what she didn't expect was to find inspiration for a story at the seance. So that when Sylvia decides to pay the medium a second visit, Louisa readily agrees to go along with her. But how different this visit turns out to be; for this time, the young friends find the medium dead. And when the police disclose that this is actually a case of murder, and arrest the medium's shady servant, Louisa decides to do some sleuthing of her own. For Louisa is sure that the maid is innocent of the murder, and rather suspects that the murderer will be found amongst the medium's clients. But who killed the medium, and why exactly was she killed? With a suspect list that includes a hero and P. T. Barnum himself, Louisa soon finds herself pouring over gossip and delving into scandal in order to unearth a murderer...

This is the third installment in a wonderful new series featuring Louisa May Alcott, the noted American novelist, as detective. And like the previous two novels in the series, "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" was a wonderfully absorbing read -- the storyline was a very intriguing one, full of plot twists and turns, with just the right number of red herring suspects to keep one happily occupied trying to figure who committed the murder and why. And that, together with the swift pacing that gathered momentum and suspense as the plot unfolded, and the brilliantly rendered scenes and characters that were full of period detail and charm, made "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" a treat beyond compare. As with the other two novels, I thought that the author had done a fantastic job of capturing Louisa May Alcott's voice and spirit. It is perhaps and odd thing to note, but I feel that with each new mystery novel, Anna Maclean gives me a better appreciation of Louisa May Alcott, not only as a writer but as a person as well. To sum up, "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" was a deliciously delightful read, and if you haven't read any of these novels yet, hesitate no longer: you will be glad that picked up this, or indeed any of the books in the series.

Crowner John is Tested to the Limit, 22 Feb 2005
Christ Mass, 1194 and Sir John de Wolfe (newly appointed coroner for the county of Devon) is attending a party at his own home, the guests include some of the most notable dignitaries of the city of Exeter, including his brotherin-law Sir Richard, Sheriff of the county.

His wife Matilda, a usually surly and miserable woman is in good spirits, because she sees the party as an opportunity to raise her social standing something she is always striving to attain.

Sir John, much to her disgust is called away to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged in his own privy. Is it suicide, or is there something more sinister afoot . . .

I always enjoy Bernard Knight's novels. There are many good writers about but very few have Prof. Knight's gift of storytelling and the obvious knowledge he has about the period in which he writes.

Well done!, 15 Dec 2000
Excellent and historically (as near as possible) accurate. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, you will enjoy this one and all of this author's works.

New Orleans: "Nothing is as it seems...and smiles devour.", 03 Jan 2006
New Orleans, 1863: the Civil War is raging, controversial Union General Benjamin Butler has just turned over his post to his successor, blacks are disappearing from their neighborhoods, horrific murders are occurring, voodoo ceremonies are taking place in the countryside, and terror is everywhere. Some white "philanthropists" have established a program for sending blacks back to a welcoming Africa, but many former slaves wish to stay in New Orleans. Both blacks and whites are terrified at what the future may hold.

Into this milieu comes Abel Jones, a major in the Union army who came to the US from Wales, by way of India, and whose rigorous moral code has brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has asked him to investigate the death of Susan Peabody, the abolitionist daughter of a wealthy northerner. Abel believes that she has been murdered, though no one knows a specific motive. Jones, the often dour hero of five previous Parry mysteries, is a fascinating character, and in this novel he continues to grow, showing far more emotion than he has in the past and far more flexibility in his interpretation of his religious duties as a devout Methodist.

Author Parry's considerable research into the New Orleans setting of 1863 is smoothly incorporated as he makes the city come alive in all the tumult of its mid-Civil War upheavals. His greatest skill, however, is in creating a fast pace in which one sensational event succeeds another at a never-slackening speed. Much of the mystery is connected to the Creoles' voodoo beliefs and voodoo ceremonies, which Parry describes in gruesome and gory detail, while Abel tries to connect events to missing Negroes and Susan Peabody's death. During his investigations, Abel runs afoul of some of the army officers who are supposed to be maintaining public order, and when he uncovers the theft of a huge sum of money entrusted to the army, his life is endangered.

Filling the novel with details and events guaranteed to excite the reader, including macabre deaths and torture not for the faint of heart, he appeals to the reader's emotions, sometimes creating scenes that are over-the-top in their sensationalism. "More is more" here, and subtlety is not an objective, once the action gets going. Written with immense narrative brio, this novel, like the others in the Abel Jones series is a carefully researched entertainment, rather than "serious literature." Parry's goal is to keep readers on the edges of their chairs, and he totally succeeds in this, his best novel to date. Mary Whipple

An amazing trip, 19 Sep 2003
In 1792, among the terror sweeping Paris, personal tragedy comes to Celie. Having left her baby with a friend, she returns to find the child dead. Her grief turns to thirst for vengeance, when her coworker, Therese, informs her that her baby was left alone while her friend dallied with her lover. With blood flowing in the streets of Paris it would be so easy to slip another soul into the human grinder. Is that what Celie really wants to do?

This short work (73 pages) is an amazing trip back to a startling time. Not a murder mystery, as I expected, this book is instead a gripping examination of a common human caught up in an entirely inhuman situation. I wish that I could say more, but I don't wish to give away too much. All I can say is that if you want a great short story that mixes humanity and inhumanity, then this book is for you.

a wonderfully engaging read, 21 Jul 2006
Another brilliantly rendered Louisa May Alcott mystery novel to enjoy! This time Louisa is in Boston, temporarily separated from her family, as she endeavours to make a living as a seamstress, as well as continue to write her "blood and thunder" stories n the hopes of getting them published. But it isn't too long before Louisa finds herself caught up in yet another perplexing murder investigation.

It is December of 1855, and Louisa is hoping to earn some extra money for Christmas presents with her sewing. But when her good friend, Sylvia Shattuck, begs her to accompany her to a seance, Louisa finds herself reluctantly agreeing to accompany Sylvia in order to keep an eye on her easily susceptible friend. Louisa fully expects that the medium will be a fraud, but what she didn't expect was to find inspiration for a story at the seance. So that when Sylvia decides to pay the medium a second visit, Louisa readily agrees to go along with her. But how different this visit turns out to be; for this time, the young friends find the medium dead. And when the police disclose that this is actually a case of murder, and arrest the medium's shady servant, Louisa decides to do some sleuthing of her own. For Louisa is sure that the maid is innocent of the murder, and rather suspects that the murderer will be found amongst the medium's clients. But who killed the medium, and why exactly was she killed? With a suspect list that includes a hero and P. T. Barnum himself, Louisa soon finds herself pouring over gossip and delving into scandal in order to unearth a murderer...

This is the third installment in a wonderful new series featuring Louisa May Alcott, the noted American novelist, as detective. And like the previous two novels in the series, "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" was a wonderfully absorbing read -- the storyline was a very intriguing one, full of plot twists and turns, with just the right number of red herring suspects to keep one happily occupied trying to figure who committed the murder and why. And that, together with the swift pacing that gathered momentum and suspense as the plot unfolded, and the brilliantly rendered scenes and characters that were full of period detail and charm, made "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" a treat beyond compare. As with the other two novels, I thought that the author had done a fantastic job of capturing Louisa May Alcott's voice and spirit. It is perhaps and odd thing to note, but I feel that with each new mystery novel, Anna Maclean gives me a better appreciation of Louisa May Alcott, not only as a writer but as a person as well. To sum up, "Louisa and the Crystal Gazer" was a deliciously delightful read, and if you haven't read any of these novels yet, hesitate no longer: you will be glad that picked up this, or indeed any of the books in the series.


Adventure fans will love it, 07 Mar 2002
Tonkin writes highly detailed and descriptive, unravelling a tale of high adventure and drama. The story is betted wonderfully into the lifes of Shakespeare and Marlowe and superbly thought-out. Tonkin's leading figure, appropriately titled Master of Defence, reminds one very much of his previous hero Captain Mariner, decisive and eager for action. A true adventure putting the reader into a different world.